


Pieces of Us

by DragonThistle



Category: Wander Over Yonder
Genre: one-shot character study, post The Wanders episode
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-13
Updated: 2015-10-13
Packaged: 2018-04-26 05:35:38
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 551
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4992271
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DragonThistle/pseuds/DragonThistle
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>There are things he doesn't need to know. There are things he doesn't want her to know. There are things that no one needs to know. He helps folks. No one needs to ask why.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Pieces of Us

**Author's Note:**

> Takes place after the episode, The Wanders. I got this into my head and it wouldn't leave me alone.

He likes helping folks; it’s what he does, it’s what he’s good at.

And if they lend him a helping hand (or claw or tentacle or various other appendage) in return then he’s made the universe a little bit of a brighter place. Every little bit helps. And helping is what he’s good at.

There’s no reason to wonder why he helps. Why question a little ray of sunshine? Take it for what it is and enjoy it.

No one needs to ask why.

*****

What hits her the most is not how tiny this part of him is. It’s not how helpless he looks, it’s not how frightened he is, it’s not any of that.

What hits her the most is that when she picks up this small, fragile part of him, he fits perfectly into her cupped hands. What hits her the most is that when she holds this shivering sliver of his personality to her heart, a weak, tiny, frightened voice that is so _very unlike him_ says with such adoration,

“Home.”

And there is nothing but love and trust in his eyes.

*****

He is unusually energetic and adamant about helping people for several weeks after the…splitting incident. Of course, he’s always energetic and adamant. But this all feels very plastered on, like he’s still stitching himself back together again after being splintered into so many facets of himself.

She tries very hard not to show that she is worried about him. And yet, she cannot help but think of that helpless piece of him that was so lost and afraid. 

She wonders who hurt him like that. And when she wonders that she feels hot with anger because no one should _ever_ hurt _him_ like that. Her fists shake at her sides as she smiles at him because he doesn’t need to know what she’s thinking.

He doesn’t need to know about this.

*****

“I didn’t really wantcha ta’ know ‘bout that,” He says under a shimmering canopy of velvet and crystal starlight. The atmosphere of this planet coats the starlight different colors and paints the night in soft rainbow hues. It’s like stained glass in the night.

She raises her head to look around at him. He’s curled in his hat, fingers clutching at the brim. His gaze is lost in the sky overhead, “Didn’t want me to know about what?”

“Oh, y’know, _that_.”

“That?”

“The most important part.”

“Oh.” She thinks she sees him flinch in the colorful night and backtracks quickly, “It’s okay, buddy, really! There’s parts of ourselves we never want people to see. It’s nothin’ to be ashamed of.”

“‘m not ashamed,” He squirms around in his hat, “I just don’ want you thinkin’ any…any less of me or somethin’.”

“Wander,” She chides in an unusually gentle manner, pushing her nose into the top of his head, “I could never, ever think less of you. For anything.”

He twists around and wraps his thin arms around her muzzle and there’s that desperate cling in his grip, that shard of himself that she found shivering and lost and afraid. That angry heat coils in her throat again but she ignores it. That’s not what he needs right now.

Right now he just needs her. And she, well, she thinks she’ll always need him.

 


End file.
